Costa Rica
Costa Rica (meaning "rich coast" in Spanish), officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west, and the Caribbean Sea to the east. Costa Rica constitutionally abolished its army permanently in 1949. History Early history In Pre-Columbian times, the Native Americans, in what is now Costa Rica, were part of a cultural complex between the Mesoamerican and Andean cultural regions. The Spanish colonial period began when Christopher Columbus reached the eastern coast of Costa Rica during the Age of Exploration, while trying to find a shorter trade route to India. He wrote in his diary that when he landed, the indigenous people showered him with gifts of gold, which led to the country's name. Around this time, plantations were developed for the cultivation of bananas, and attempts were made to ease the harvest by growing them by the stalk. Eventually, they attempted to build a rail system for transporting bananas and coffee beans from the central basin to the Caribbean coast. However, harsh conditions resulted in it ending shortly, though not before a boost in banana exports allowed the Costa Rican government to earn enough money to complete a rail stop. By 1934, stone spheres were discovered while clearing away forests for developing plantations. On March 12, 1948, the 44-day Costa Rican Civil War erupted in the wake of a disputed presidential election. A year later, due to both the civil war and having only enough resources to choose between the military and education, Costa Rica's constitution was amended to abolish the country's military to prevent the tragedy from ever happening again. However, it was allowed to temporarily organize armed forces for national defense based on inter-American treaties, though it has not once ever raised an army since the amendment passed. A fortress located on Los Cantos near Mount Irazu was a reminder of the civil war, with others involving buildings containing bullet holes. Nicaragua also attempted to invade Costa Rica twice, but both times it was resolved diplomatically under the Organization of American States (OAS) auspices. During the Cold War, the Soviet Union, via the KGB, attempted to garner influence over Central America, although the CIA pushed them back repeatedly. The Costa Rican government eventually attempted to create a pumped storage power plant on Irazu to tap into its crater lake, but it was cancelled due to it not having enough to sustain its needs. In 1970, the president at the time, José Figueres Ferrer, allowed for various controversial aspects to run throughout Costa Rica, including allowing foreign entities to mine their lands, causing the populace to throw stones at parliament. Because of these and his pro-American policies, the populace also speculated that he was in bed with the CIA. In 1973, members of the Sandinista National Liberation Front fled to Costa Rica after being driven from neighboring Nicaragua by the Somoza regime's National Guard. They were eventually forced to man a KGB drug purification facility and sell drugs to garner enough money for troops, equipment and supplies. Around the same time, the rogue CIA Peace Sentinel secretly invaded Costa Rica with an immense army, in order to carry out the Peace Walker Project. Excusing their activities as members of CODESA, they succeeded in infiltrating the country due to the elimination of Costa Rica's army 24 years prior. The Peace Sentinel then killed the Sandinista Comandante, took over at least one village and transformed it into a prison facility, converted one of the gold mines into a weapons development lab, converted an unknown ruin into an AI development facility, converted the failed power plant into a weapons frame development facility, and also took over the various KGB-owned drug facilities/railroads and continued the drug trade route the FSLN formerly utilized, driving out several FSLN members as well as capturing, torturing, and murdering any FSLN members that they caught. Around this time, French ornithologist Cécile Cosima Caminades, was captured after her attempt at recording the quetzal had her accidentally recording a simulation between the AI's chief developer, Dr. Strangelove, and the Mammal Pod, with the Peace Sentinel confiscating the incriminating recorder. Later, a double agent for Cipher posing as a Costa Rican high school girl, Pacifica Ocean (Paz Ortega Andrade), attempted to infiltrate a port near Limón to search for a lost friend, but stumbled upon their actions and was captured and presumably tortured, although she managed to escape from the facility with the tape. One year later, the Militaires Sans Frontières were hired by Ramón Gálvez Mena as well as (unofficially) by the Costa Rican government to drive out the Peace Sentinel, and also discovered that they were attempting to bring in nukes. The MSF, upon discovering the reason for their presence, then attempted to stop the development of Peace Walker. Eventually, the Peace Sentinel were stopped and driven into Nicaragua, although not without Peace Walker reaching completion. Post-Peace Walker By March 1975, former President Ferrer admitted to collaborating with the CIA. On November 17, 1983, President Luis Alberto Monge refused the construction of United States military bases in Costa Rica, declaring permanent neutrality. In 1994, the Costa Rican government persuaded Panama to abolish its military. Important locations in the Peace Walker Incident Caribbean Coast *Playa del Alba *Bosque del Alba *Puerto del Alba Eastern Limón *El Cenegal *Rio del Jade *Bananal Fruta de Oro Mt. Irazu Area *Camino de Lava *Aldea de los Despiertos *Cafetal Aroma Encantado *El Cadalso *Los Cantos *Fuerte la Ladera *Crater Base Central Heredia *Selva de la Leche *Catarata de la Muerte *Selva de la Muerte *Ruinas de Xochiquetzal *AI Lab Mine Base *Mine Base Behind the scenes In Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, a radio call to Sigint, should he have been recruited, through a character other than Naked Snake will have him mention the three C's that have beautiful women in them: Colombia, Costa Rica, and Chile. An unused location in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker called La Isla Triangular (The Triangular Island) would have featured a walled-in lake that was guarded by a World War II-era submarine. Appearances *''Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops'' (mentioned only) *''Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker'' ru:Коста-Рика Category:Costa Rica